Rock, Paper, Scissors
by OllieCollie
Summary: "The detective felt his skull slam against the wet wooden planks. Bright spots danced in front of his eyes. He vaguely heard a shout—probably Ruzek—and then he was falling." All Jay Halstead had to do was ask a guy a couple of questions. Unfortunately, nothing is ever that simple.


**_A/N: Just a quick Jay whump based on the prompt "drowning."_**

_Usual disclaimers apply. Sadly, Jay and Ruzek are not mine, but I certainly enjoy playing with them._

* * *

It was _supposed_ to be a quick, easy questioning. It was _not_ supposed to turn into a brush-with-death kind of day. But of course, when did things ever go according to plan for Jay Halstead?

Their mission was simple: approach Tyler Warren, ask him a couple of questions, and bring him in if necessary. The guy had a long criminal record and a close connection with their main suspect in this murder case—he either knew something about it or could direct them to someone who did.

Halstead stepped out of the car, still smirking because he'd just beaten Ruzek at rock, paper, scissors—which meant he got to take the lead on this one with Ruzek as back-up.

The two men made their way down the dock, eyes on their man as he messed with the rope keeping his boat docked. Warren was a mean-looking dude who was a head taller than Jay and covered with tattoos. Not that Halstead was intimidated.

"Tyler Warren," Jay moved closer, "Chicago P.D."

The man stiffened slightly, but he kept his back turned to the detective. "I don't want to talk to you."

"Look, we just have a couple of questions about J.T. Vargas. So why don't you turn around nice and easy and help us out?" Jay's fingers played with the cool metal of his handcuffs, his sixth sense keeping him extra alert. He didn't like the look of this. Maybe Warren and Vargas had a closer partnership than they'd originally thought.

There was a slight pause. Then suddenly, Warren whirled and bolted.

"_Hey!_" Jay was already on the move, lightning fast reflexes giving him the advantage he needed. His arms wound around Warren's broad frame, ready to bring him to the ground. However, he underestimated the slipperiness of the dock and the sheer weight of Warren. The detective felt his skull slam against the wet wooden planks. Bright spots danced in front of his eyes. He vaguely heard a shout—probably Ruzek—and then he was falling. Icy water enveloped him as he landed with a splash. Another body hit the water next to him. _Warren._

Jay struggled to clear the cobwebs from his head, to find Warren, to reach the surface, but he was disoriented and his sense of direction was definitely not functioning properly. _Not good._

A solid kick to the stomach knocked the air right out of him, and he gasped and choked when water rushed into his mouth. He had to get out. He couldn't breathe. Oh man, this wasn't good. Which way was up?

Jay was losing his hold on consciousness—it was only a matter of seconds before he faded…

* * *

His head _hurt. _His chest burned. He coughed, choking and spluttering as he fought to make sense of what was happening.

"Hey, hey, hey, just calm down, man," he heard a familiar voice somewhere above him. Hands gently maneuvered his throbbing head from a hard surface to a softer one. "I know it hurts, but you gotta stay still." Something was pressed to the side of his head, and he gritted his teeth against the pain. His thoughts swirled around, memories dangling just out of reach. Sirens wailed in the distance.

"Jay? You with me?"

He finally matched the voice to the face—Ruzek. Halstead blinked a couple of times, but everything was blurry. Water dripped into his eyes, and he could just make out the concerned face of his friend leaning over him.

A fresh bout of coughing interrupted any tendrils of a sentence he could piece together.

"Hey, deep breaths, all right?" Ruzek coached. "Help is on the way."

Jay did his best to follow Ruzek's instructions, but he was dizzy and his coordination skills definitely weren't at their finest.

He must have zoned out, because the next thing he knew, paramedics were leaning over him, buzzing with questions and unnecessary noise as they worked. Jay sank back against Ruzek, eyes squeezed shut. Eventually the medics quit poking and prodding him long enough to load him onto a stretcher—which was totally unnecessary, too. He could've walked. Well, okay, maybe not. But he liked to think he would've been fine.

"Adam…" he grunted hoarsely as he was wheeled toward the ambulance. "You got...got Warren?"

Ruzek simply pointed to where another pair of EMS workers were loading up an unconscious Warren. "More or less." He squeezed Jay's shoulder. "The team will meet you at the hospital."

"'Kay." Jay didn't have the energy for more words. "Th—thanks, man."

"Y'know, I considered letting you drown for a minute there, but then, who would I let win rock, paper, scissors to do the dirty work?" The blond officer smirked.

Jay managed to roll his eyes. "Whatever."

Ruzek watched as the paramedics finished loading Jay into the ambulance. "But seriously, bro, don't do that again. Scared me for a second there when I hauled your limp self out of that water."

"No promises."

It was Ruzek's turn to roll his eyes. "I'll see you in a bit, man."

Jay barely nodded as the ambulance doors closed, hiding Ruzek from his view.

Well, it was definitely not a day he wanted to repeat any time soon—aka, ever—but he was sure he was never gonna hear the end of it from the team.

That was the last time Jay was ever playing rock, paper, scissors.


End file.
